Rilla Askew
Encyclopedia
Rilla Askew is an American
novelist and short story writer who was born in the Sans Bois Mountains
of southeastern Oklahoma
, and grew up in the town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma
. She graduated from the University of Tulsa
with a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance in 1980 and went on to study creative writing at Brooklyn College
, where she received her MFA
in 1989.
Rilla has taught at Syracuse University
, Brooklyn College
, the University of Central Oklahoma
, the University of Oklahoma
and the University of Massachusetts Amherst
.
Askew was a 2004 fellow at Civiella Ranieri in Umbertide, Italy, and a featured writer at the 2008 World Literature Today and Chinese Literature Conference in Beijing. In 2009, she received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in a variety of journals, and her story "The Killing Blanket" was selected for Prize Stories 1993: The O. Henry Awards.
Askew's first novel The Mercy Seat was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dublin IMPAC Prize, was a Boston Globe Notable Book, and received the Oklahoma Book Award and the Western Heritage Award in 1998. In 2002, her second novel Fire in Beulah, about the Tulsa race riot
, received the American Book Award and the Myers Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights. Askew's third novel, Harpsong
, is set in 1930's Oklahoma. Harpsong received the Oklahoma Book Award, the Western Heritage Award, the WILLA Award from Women Writing the West, and the Violet Crown Award from the Writers League of Texas in 2008.
Her sister Ruth Askew Brelsford is the speech/drama chair at Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton, Oklahoma.
Askew is married to actor Paul Austin, and they divide their time between Oklahoma and the Catskill Mountains
in upstate New York
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist and short story writer who was born in the Sans Bois Mountains
Sans Bois Mountains
The Sans Bois Mountains are a small mountain range in southeastern Oklahoma and part of the larger Ouachita Mountains. It is a frontal belt of the Ouachita Mountains and is located in Haskell and Latimer counties, Oklahoma. "Sans bois" means "without wood" in French.-Geography:The highest peaks of...
of southeastern Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and grew up in the town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. She graduated from the University of Tulsa
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
with a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance in 1980 and went on to study creative writing at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, where she received her MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in 1989.
Rilla has taught at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, the University of Central Oklahoma
University of Central Oklahoma
The University of Central Oklahoma, often referred to as UCO, is a coeducational public university located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The university is the third largest in Oklahoma, with almost 18,000 students and approximately 434 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty...
, the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
and the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
.
Askew was a 2004 fellow at Civiella Ranieri in Umbertide, Italy, and a featured writer at the 2008 World Literature Today and Chinese Literature Conference in Beijing. In 2009, she received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in a variety of journals, and her story "The Killing Blanket" was selected for Prize Stories 1993: The O. Henry Awards.
Askew's first novel The Mercy Seat was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dublin IMPAC Prize, was a Boston Globe Notable Book, and received the Oklahoma Book Award and the Western Heritage Award in 1998. In 2002, her second novel Fire in Beulah, about the Tulsa race riot
Tulsa Race Riot
The Tulsa race riot was a large-scale racially motivated conflict, May 31 - June 1st 1921, between the white and black communities of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in which the wealthiest African-American community in the United States, the Greenwood District also known as 'The Negro Wall St' was burned to the...
, received the American Book Award and the Myers Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights. Askew's third novel, Harpsong
Harpsong
Harpsong is a novel by Rilla Askew published in 2007. It is volume one in Oklahoma Stories and Storytellers, from University of Oklahoma Press...
, is set in 1930's Oklahoma. Harpsong received the Oklahoma Book Award, the Western Heritage Award, the WILLA Award from Women Writing the West, and the Violet Crown Award from the Writers League of Texas in 2008.
Her sister Ruth Askew Brelsford is the speech/drama chair at Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton, Oklahoma.
Askew is married to actor Paul Austin, and they divide their time between Oklahoma and the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
in upstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
External links
- Official website
- 2005 interview by Oklahoma author JL Myers for the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers